Knowledge mobilization for sport organizations
Knowledge mobilization is the process of sharing evidence-based findings with an audience who can use those findings in practice. Knowledge mobilization helps close the gap between what is known and what is done. Closing this knowledge-to-action gap can advance the sport sector by providing sport stakeholders with information that enables them to enhance practice, policies…
Recruiting, retaining and supporting volunteers in a changing sport system
Paul Varian is a sport-management consultant and thought-leader with experience at all levels of the sport sector, from community and amateur sport to large national governing bodies. Throughout his long career in sport, Varian has served as the Chief Executive of the Irish Hockey Association, President and CEO of Sport BC, and Manager of the…
Demographics of Canadian strength and conditioning coaches
New research on Canadian strength and conditioning coaches has shed light on demographics. The study found that the mean age of coaches was 34 years. 77.% of participants were male and 90.7% did not identify as a visible minority. This demographic data can inform future targeted recruitment and mentoring within the field.
Safe sport jobs increase as Canadian sport sector responds to community
Safe sport and safeguarding in sport have become top priorities for the Canadian sport sector. Prevalence studies have revealed that athletes across different levels of sport frequently experience maltreatment (Alexander et coll., 2011; Vertommen et coll., 2016; US Center for SafeSport, 2021; Willson et coll., 2022). Equity deserving athletes experience more harm in sport (Burdsey,…
The new sport system landscape: Understanding the interrelationships between governance, brand, and social media in non-profit sport organizations
View the summary of this research here. Project summary Today’s managers face unprecedented governance, economic/marketing, and technological realities affecting their processes and performance, aspects we understand poorly. Managers are under increased scrutiny from stakeholders regarding their credibility to govern themselves effectively, to demonstrate appropriate ethical leadership standards, and to maintain the trust of their members…
(Re)building cultural integrity in sport: The mechanics, tools and blueprint for change
Sport is the most watched, celebrated, supported, and engaging social endeavour in the world (Hulteen et coll., 2017). Sport is inherently emotionally and narratively captivating, embodying and upholding principles of positive and sustainable human, social, and environmental development. But the potential for sport to do good for participants and society more broadly relies on sport…
Developing leadership behaviours in athletes
Project summary This project developed, implemented, and evaluated the effect of a season-long athlete leadership development program. The participants included 66 female varsity athletes who participated in four leadership workshops throughout their competitive sport season, approximately one hour in duration. All of the participants completed inventories measuring leadership behaviours, cohesion, communication, and peer-motivational climate. Overall,…
A theory of change for Canadian sport: Dorothy Paul on culture change
Highlights: 2 Loops Theory of Change seeks to describe and model organizations as living beings with life cycles Indigenous sport leader, Dorothy Paul, advocates for 2 Loops Theory as a lens to consider cultural shift within the Canadian sport sector In this SIRCuit article, SIRC interviews Paul to gain her perspective on cultural change, pressing…
The Sport Information Resource Centre is celebrating its 50th anniversary!
Ottawa – The Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) is thrilled to announce we are celebrating our 50th anniversary! Founded in 1973, as a library for sports-related information, SIRC has evolved into a leading knowledge broker for the Canadian sport community. Over the past 5 decades, SIRC has focused on synthesizing evidence-based information into practical, easy-to-understand…
Governance in membership organizations
The landscape of Canadian sport is populated by thousands of membership based nonprofit organizations. In the sporting context, membership organizations are ones in which members pay fees motivated by their interest to participate in their chosen sport (for example, a Masters athlete paying dues to a local track club). As result of that financial investment,…